Quiet Night Thought

Quiet Night Thought (Chinese: 靜夜思) is the title of a famous poem written by the Tang Dynasty poet, Li Bai (also known as Li Bo or Li Po).

The below Qing-dynasty version is the one now taught in Taiwanese schools, with Mandarin pronunciation in pinyin, however the version below is written in traditional Chinese, which is not used in China:

床前明月光
疑是地上霜
舉頭望明月
低頭思故鄉

Chuángqián míngyuè guāng
Yí shì dìshàng shuāng
Jǔtóu wàng míngyuè
Dītóu sī gùxiāng

The Simplified Chinese version used in most Chinese schools is as follows:

床前明月光
疑是地上霜。
举头望明月
低头思故乡。

Chuángqián / míngyuè / guāng
Yí shì / dìshàng / shuāng。
Jǔtóu / wàng / míngyuè
Dītóu / sī / gùxiāng。

The above is the version of the poem, taught in school in present-day China, but there are other versions replacing "the bright moonlight" (明月光) with "I see the moonlight" (看月光) and/or with "the mountain and the moon" (山月). The insertion of the character (míng "light/bright") into poetry was common practice during the Ming dynasty (), whose Chinese name features this character. For a 17th-century edition of the poem, see the example, with notes, in "Rare Book Preservation Society#Li Bai Tang Poem".

Li drew inspiration for the poem through personal experiences as a Confucian scholar detached from his hometown. In the times of Imperial China, scholars and artisans affiliated with the court were often detached from their hometowns for extended periods of times as part of their duties and loyalties as courtiers or worthy subjects to the Emperor of China. While it was expected in traditional Confucian ritual to remain a loyal subject to the Emperor and abide by the Emperor's wishes, filial piety also formed one of the foundations of Confucian thought, and emphasised upon the importance of embracing and honouring one's ancestry and roots. However, the Emperor was also considered the "Father" of all his subjects, and so his courtiers were also required to express their filial duties to the Emperor. Through the poem, Li Bai fulfils responsibilities of filial piety to both Emperor and his ascendants as he expresses his yearning for his hometown, in accordance with Confucian values, as well as obedience towards the obligation of remaining loyal to imperial edict, again in accordance to Confucian values of filial piety. Indeed, the poem alludes to the August moon and therefore the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival serves as a highly important festival in Chinese culture for its adherence to Chinese family values, and is traditionally associated with family reunion. Li is therefore lamenting over the impossibility of family reunion due to the importance of imperial edict, yet stresses the importance of valuing one's origin even amidst the impossibility of reunion.

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Wikipedia